And again..

Hey.

So since I was in Tromsø, Norway in (more or less) the previous week, I haven't really written anything. What I've been doing there? Visiting friends, and going to the bukta festival (edit: the search at last.fm for events sucks! I finally found it here). Here's the complete program (discussion below):

DAY ONE
BIG STAGE:
17:00
Big Bang
18:35
Disciplines
20:05
The Sonics (US)
21:45
MEW (DK)

SMALL STAGE
18:00
Kråkesølv
19:25
Navigators
21:05
Hayseed Dixie (US)
NIGHT PROGRAM
DJ Snowball

DAY TWO
BIG STAGE
17:00
Danko Jones (CAN)
18:30
John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen
19:50
Jim Jones Revue (UK)
21:15
Datarock
22:45
Dinosaur JR. (US)

SMALL STAGE
18:00
The Hex
19:20
Let's Wrestle (UK)
20:40
Tellusalie
22:05
Mondo Generator (US)
NIGHT PROGRAM
01:00
The Goo Men

DAY THREE: MORNING (FREE)
BIG STAGE
12:00
Blacksheeps
12:55
Moddi
14:00
Hurra Torpedo

SMALL STAGE
12:30
Mining in Yukon
13:35
Jabba the Butt
14:40
Bits'n'Pieces

DAY THREE: NORMAL PROGRAM
BIG STAGE
18:00
Hellbillies
19:30
Clutch (US)
21:10
Juliette Lewis (US)
22:50
Sivert Høyem

SMALL STAGE
19:00
Bad County
20:30
[Ingenting] (SE)
22:10
Turdus Musicus
NIGHT PROGRAM
01:00
Senjahopen

Day One
Decent weather. A little chilly, but plenty of sun and no rain.
I missed half of Big Bang [sic], but they sounded good enough. Like all the bands on the small stage, this was listen-able. Disciplines, the third band of the day, was a different story. These guys (with one American member), playing "punk" in the vein of The Clash as well as more current-day "punk", had a pretty in-your-face sound as well as a great performance. However, I'd pick The Sonics (one of the bands I went for in the first place) as the best of the day. Old as they are, they still perform their fast garage rock with great charm. MEW, on the other hand, was not quite as good. I had heard of the band before, and I actually had pretty positive expectations from them, but it turned out to be a boring show, where everything drowned in bass and every song sounded like the last. Sure, it wasn't awful, but that's about all.

Day Two
Light rain throughout the evening. Pretty warm (for Tromsø standards; about 15-20 degrees C)
Again, I missed some of the first act, Danko Jones (who plays here every other year or so). This was some badass hard rock. Not spectacular, but the guy has a nose for entertaining the crowd. The following three bands (the hex, john olav nilsen & gjengen, let's wrestle) were all mediocre at best. Jim Jones Revue, a band I'd never heard of, proved to be quite a surprise; some pretty fast, blues-fueled rock they've got going. Great show, too. After an ignorable Tellusalie, the real feast of the festival began: Datarock, funky electronic rock, with an energetic show, followed by Mondo Generator. Mondo Generator did some badass covers of Queens of the Stone Age songs, as well as the Kyuss song Green Machine (one of my favorites) and played some hardcore-speed tracks. They probably take the prize of "best new-to-me band". Dinosaur JR. was a bit of a let-down; their music was high-quality, but not as noisy as I expected. Plus, their show was BORING.

Day Three
Warm day (~20 degrees C). Lots of sun. Great day for a festival.
Morning
I've only seen the last three bands; I heard some of Moddi in the distance, which had awful vocals. Jabba the Butt was an interesting group of two guys; drums and bass only. They played a little sludgy, heavy rock with an experimental edge. Before-last song, some random other guy popped up on stage; he did some vocals (without words). Funny, really. Hurra Torpedo was brilliant; they're basically a noise rock band that makes music with bass, guitar and kitchen equipment. Lots of percussion; covered Lady GaGa and that silly milkshake song I don't want to know. Hilarious, but slightly childish. Bits'n'Pieces was generic, boring poppy rock.
Evening
We skipped Hellbillies; Bad County was decent but not very interesting. Clutch was, well, FUCKING AMAZING. Not as heavy as Mondo Generator, perhaps, but more psychedelic. [Ingenting] was not really worth seeing; as was the headliner, Juliette Lewis. Apparently a famous actress, her music wasn't interesting at all. Turdus Musicus was okay; they played some kind of metalcore/post-hardcore. Pretty scene-y stuff, which I normally stay away from; but it was a kind relief from Lewis. The final act, Sivert Høyem, was pretty boring too. He played some songs from the band Madrugada, which were decent. We left early.

Overall, it was a great festival; however, the headlines were a little disappointing.